FilmTalk 2013/14: The Jewish Villain

The theme for the 2013/14 season is ‘The Jewish Villain’. The figure of the Jewish gangster or gang leader has fascinated filmmakers almost for as long as film has existed.

Sir Christopher Frayling (Royal College of Art, London; Churchill College Cambridge)

Once Upon a Time in Italy

Sergio Leone’s massive gangster epic ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984) was the result of fifteen years of preparation. It told of the rise and fall of a gang of Jewish hoodlums from the Lower East Side in New York, over a forty year time span. Leone was determined not to make
a film about the usual Italian or Irish gangsters - but instead to focus ona community which had more rarely been featured in Hollywood thrillers. When the film opened in America it was severely cut and opinions were sharply divided on whether it was convincing or not.

Professor Sir Christopher Frayling was until recently Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chair of the Arts Council England. An award-winning broadcaster and regular contributor to BBC radio and television, he haswritten eighteen books – among them the acclaimed biography of the Italian director Sergio Leone and a detailed study of his films. He is Professor Emeritus of Cultural History at the RCA and a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He was knighted in 2000 for “services to art and design education”.

FilmTalk lectures are held at The Wiener Library, 29 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DP and begin at 6.30pm.
Admission is free but places must be reserved in advance by contacting the Wiener Library (email info@wienerlibrary.co.uk or phone 020 7636 7247 or visit wienerlibrary.co.uk/whats-on).

Underground: Russell Square; Bus: 188, 168, X68, 7, 59, 68

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